Living Alone
by phantom130 5
Summary: Sasuke and Naruto are two ninja in the Hidden Leaf. They may seem different, but they're also in so many ways the same. This is a collaboration with ChibiJinchuuriki (She wrote chapter 2) Entry for the Fourth Prompt: A Parallel Partnership.
1. Sasuke

I'm running through the village full speed toward my house. Somehow I hadn't noticed how fast the time had seemed to have slipped by while I was out in the forest doing target practice all day. It's getting dark so I just hope mom and dad aren't going to be mad when they see me coming home nearly a half hour past curfew.

I slow down slightly to catch my breath and find that my heart seems to be racing my lungs to see which of them can do their job fastest. Coming to a complete stop and letting the sweat drip off my forehead I find myself looking up to the dark sunset sky. The autumn sunset always seem to give me a mysterious, almost bone-chilling feeling that I could never quite find the words to explain, but somehow tonight... Tonight it felt different, almost if it were a warning from a not so distant world that misfortune was sure to come. The thought of it made me shiver slightly, but I quickly brushed the feeling off, after all it was silly to allow your imagination to believe such ridiculous things that are no more real than silly superstitions.

As soon as my heart rate calms a bit I continue running. I notice that the town seems unusually quiet on this night. It's late Friday, why couldn't I hear the teenagers sneaking out of their house for a late night movie or the usual yelling coming from that old man down the road, telling off anyone who walked by to keep quite?

Suddenly I see it and I know why. Dead bodies are scattered throughout the Uchiha compound. I look down at them in shock to realize that I recognize some of these people. I then think of my parents and older brother Itachi. Please let them be alive, I pray as I run toward the house even faster than before, my skin cold with fear, half knowing that I wouldn't like what I saw.

"MOTHER, FATHER!" I yell as I reach out for the front door of our house. To my surprise, my cry is answered by the sound of my brother Itachi.

"SASUKE DON'T COME IN!" He yells, but it's too late I've already open the door to my mom and dad lying dead on the ground and my brother stone faced, holding a sword tainted in blood, is the only one besides me still alive in the room.

I violently shake my head, tears now starting to pour from my eyes. There's no way things are how they look it's just a misunderstanding. Itachi would never kill my parents, never less a whole clan. That's what I tell myself, but somehow even I doubt my thoughts.

"Big brother! Big brother! Father and mother are... How? Why? Who would do such a..." I have so many questions, so many emotions running through my head that I find it hard to keep my thoughts straight.

"Foolish little brother." Itachi mutters, not even trying to defend himself.

"Why? Why'd you kill everyone?" I ask, everything slowly becoming clearer. Itachi killed the clan and if I didn't do anything he could kill me next. If it was so easy for him to overpower mom and dad at the same time then I wouldn't stand a chance.

"To measure capacity." Itachi replies coldly. "My abilities have been repressed by this pathetic clan."

"Measure capacity?" I repeat, this time more of a question than a statement. "... You killed them for that?"

"I had to." Itachi replies.

"WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU?" I yell, charging at him fully enraged, but I knew I couldn't do it, I couldn't find it in me to attack him. Instead I find myself going against my urge to kill him by falling to the ground and breaking down in tears. "THIS CAN'T BE TRUE MY BROTHER WOULDN'T DO THIS! Because..."

"Pretending to be the kind of brother you hoped for... was to determine your ability. You will be the one through whom I can confirm my ability. You have that potential. You've felt anger and hated me you've always tried to surpass me so I'll let you live... for my sake. Hate me and live... like the coward you are! Clinging to life without honor! You will find me again!"

Then nearly a split second later Itachi seems to disappear into thin air, leaving me alone to take care of myself. I shut my eyes and crouch to the floor. For the next hour I do nothing but cry and when I reopen them I'm lying in my bed teary eyed and drenched in sweat. I sit up and get out of bed.

"Thank God it was just a dream... a sick twisted nightmare..." I mutter to myself, but I know that's not the full truth. The mass murder of the Uchiha clans had happen and my brother was the one to kill them, choosing to leave me alive for reasons I still can't understand.

It has been over a week since then, and now my thoughts are cursed. I can't even fall asleep without having to relive that same event in my dreams. I look on the wall. There is a framed picture of Itachi on display, no doubt put up long before my parents' death.

I spend a long time just staring at the picture into the face of the man I once felt so privileged to call my ni-san. Then with rage flowing throughout my body I take the picture and smash it off the ground.

"DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOU DID TO ME?" I yell; my face filling with tears yet again. "IT'S THANKS TO YOU MY LIFE IS SO MESSED UP!"

I look at the mess of broken glass on the floor and bend down to clean it up. When you live alone like I do it's important to try and maintain a clean house.

I head to the kitchen and make myself breakfast. When my mom was alive I never bothered to ask her to show me how to cook, I always sort of figured that I wouldn't have to cook for myself until I was grown up.

It's so odd... So messed up... I'm only nine years old, but because of this I often feel a lot older. It hasn't even been a month yet, but I've grown so much it feels like years ago since the last time I truly felt young and care free. Right now I'm home, yet I feel so homesick, because sometimes home isn't where you are or where you were, it's who you want to be with. I'd give anything just to talk to my parents one last time.

After my meal I get dressed and head to school. I still have at least another hour before class starts and I know that if I were any other teenager I would have put that time to good use by catching up on some much needed rest, but after my latest nightmare I think that I'd rather take my chances with a sleep deprived school day than what could possibly be another horrendous flashback.

So instead I walk to school, trying my best to bide my time by taking in nature's scenery. Something about it tends to relax me. Even now when it feels like my life can't get any worse I look up at the plants animals and smile just slightly.

I soon arrive at Konoha Academy, a school specially designed to teach kids the basics on becoming a ninja. I'm a third year at the academy and my grades are at the top of the class. Iruka says that if I keep it up I'll be making our village proud in no time ... Funny thing is I remember him saying the same thing once about Itachi and now they won't even speak his name ...

The bell rings and I make my way inside. Immediately I'm chased down the hall by two peppy girls, one with long pink hair, the other one blond. They try to push each other a bit, trying to see who reaches me first. Finally the blond trips the pink haired girl and runs up behind me, wrapping her arms around my waist in a tight hug.

"Good morning Sasuke!" The girl greets cheerfully.

I sigh and calmly try to free myself from her death grip. "... Good morning Ino ..." I say, not sharing her excitement.

Sakura now back on her feet, charges at Ino and slams her into a locker. "Back off Ino-pig, Sasuke is mine!" She yelled.

"No way Sasuke would ever love you billboard brow!" Ino retorts.

I sigh and walk away. The two of them always seem to do this same routine every day. Sometimes they're so involved that they won't even notice if I leave, and if my past experiences have taught me anything it's likely that the girls will continue to fight like that until the second bell rings and then rush into class late. Girls ... They're so annoying ...

I enter Iruka's classroom just in time to see him bolting out of the room in order to break up Sakura and Ino's fight. I take my usual seat near the back of the classroom and soon Iruka walks in dragging two girls by the arms that both look beaten up and a little embarrassed. The bell rings and Iruka does roll call. So far everyone is present.

"Uchiha Sasuke." Iruka calls.

"Present." I answer casually.

Iruka takes a look at the name after mine, searches around the room and scowls. It seems like he knows that the person he's about to call isn't here, but just to be sure he calls the name anyway. "... Uzumaki Naruto."

Sakura raises her hand. "Uh ... Sir Naruto's not here today."

Iruka gritted his teeth. "... Yes I see that ... If that little brat thinks he's going to skip class again today he's got another thing coming!" He yells as he runs out of the room once again.

Most of the day seemed to go by as usual; Iruka would give us our History lesson then we'd take notes. Lunch came and I hoped for some peace, serenity, and to be alone with my thoughts. Alas, this wasn't the case because I was soon joined by my two annoying fangirls Sakura and Ino. I was almost relieved when I heard the ringing of the bell that signaled for lunch to be over, because it meant that I finally had an excuse to leave the girls.

Now I'm sitting back in class. Iruka told us before lunch started that he had a special announcement for when we got back, but he still hasn't told us anything.

"Come on Sensei; tell us this big announcement already!" A blond haired boy in the audience says.

"Hold your horses Naruto. I just need to take attendance first." Iruka replied.

I hear a lot of chatter amongst the students. Since they're all talking at once it's hard to pick up more than just the occasional word or short sentence, but nearly everyone is talking about what this so called surprise could be.

After a while Iruka puts down the attendance bored and calls for a man named Mizuki to enter the room. Mizuki looks around the class and seems to give a look that's a cross between a fake smile and a scowl.

"Well, just by looking at all your faces I think we've got an ... interesting group of young ninja here. For those who don't know me I'm Mizuki. I work here in the academy and I was brought here to help coach you in today's Gym lesson."

"... What's the deal here Iruka?" A tired looking boy with black hair and a pony tail asks. "We've never needed a coach for Gym before."

Iruka smiles. "I'm glad you asked that Shikamaru ... Just next time please raise your hand ... Anyways, today we have a very special lesson. You see we're finally going to be working with actual ninja tools so I brought Mizuki along for extra supervision."

Mizuki nods. "Yes, Iruka-sensei is right. Now let's head out to the Gym so I can show you kids more."

... Target practice ... personally I don't really care much for the idea, but if I ever want to be strong enough to defeat Itachi then I'll need all the training I can get.

Once we're outside Iruka hands out the kunai. He spends a lot of time explaining how to hold the knife just right, and then he throws it and hits dead center on the target bored.

"Now don't feel discouraged if you don't hit anything." Iruka explains. "After all I bet for most of you this will be your first time. Throwing kunai takes a long time to perfect, but once you get the hang of it you'll find it's quite easy."

"Now who wants to go first?" Mizuki asks and I raise my hand at the same time as a blond haired boy.

"Oh oh pick me!" The blond shouts while eagerly jumping up and down.

"I'd really just like to get this over with." I confess.

Iruka smiles at the sight of his students seeming to take an interest in his lesson. "Well if you two both want to go first so badly how about you start the class off and show them how it's done."

"Wait does that mean me and him are competing?" The blond asks seeming excited.

Iruka nods. "Yeah I suppose you can say something like that. Is that fine by you Sasuke?"

I nod and smile slightly. I was never one to shy away from a good competition. If this blond really wants to try and prove that he's better than me, the last of the Uchiha clan, then I'll prove him wrong.

Me and the blond step up to the target bored and Iruka takes notice of how quickly I seem to adjust by positioning my kunai just right.

"Sasuke, is this your first time?" Iruka asks. "So far your position is nearly perfect."

I shake my head. "No, me and my brother used to go out for target practice nearly every weekend when I was younger."

Out of the corner of my eyes I think I notice the blond seem to cringe, no doubt worried that I'll beat him, but then seconds later he goes back to his same old happy go lucky self.

"Well I used to go out for target practice every day too! Believe it!" The boy shouts. He's obviously lying though; he's not even holding the kunai properly.

"Have you now?" Iruka questions teasingly. "Well then I guess there's no need for me to point out that your form's all wrong. I'll just let the master do his work."

The class breaks into laughter and blond's eyes shoot up as he nearly drops his kunai in surprise.

"I- I knew that, I was just showing you guys what not to do!" He explains nervously. He mustn't have been expecting Iruka to call him out like that. What was with this kid? His attempts to amuse the class were so pitiful that it was almost fun to watch.

"I-it's like this isn't it?" The blond asks, holding the knife between his thumb and index finger.

Iruka shakes his head. "... No still not right ..."

After a long while with the blond continuously taking guesses on how to hold the kunai and Iruka twice walking over to show him how it's done, he was ready to fire at the targets.

We throw our kunai at the same time. Mine is going to hit dead center, but the blond's hits mine while still in the air, causing them to both fall to the ground.

"What was that for? Be careful when you throw that!" I scold, but the blond ignores me.

"Now who wants to go up next?" Iruka asks.

"Wait!" The blond yells. "I want to try again!"

Iruka shakes his head. "No sorry boys, but we need to give the others a chance."

After school I leave to go to the park with Ino and Sakura. On the way we make a quick stop at the grocery store. Since I have to live alone I need to buy my own food and make sure that I'm still eating healthy. Sure I'd love to go the ramen shop across the street every time I have a chance, but if I did I know I'd get fat in no time.

As soon as we're done taking the food home and I'm at the park, we take a seat on the park bench. I've always liked the park. I'll admit that since my parents' passing the place has sort of lost its fun, but I'll still come because it makes for a good escape from reality.

At the moment Sakura and Ino are just talking amongst each other and although I'm still welcome to listen in and contribute to their conversation they're smart enough to know that I'm not nearly as passionate about knowing how cute Mizuki-sensei is as they are.

I am about to try and change the subject when out of the corner of my eye I catch glimpse of the blond haired boy again. He doesn't seem to notice me this time, but he sits on the swing alone, looking upset. I know Sakura and Ino must have noticed the same thing, because they abruptly stop talking and turn to stare at him.

"Look at him all alone." Sakura says. "He's so pathetic. He's pretending to be sad so we'll feel sorry for him."

"Yeah, well it serves him right. I mean he causes so much trouble; he should know that he won't make any friends with all those pranks." Ino adds.

I watch the boy continue to swing in silence and he seems so odd ... so mysterious ... I feel like I've learned so much about him in just one day, but I still don't understand why he acts out so often. I mean I guess you can never fully find a reason for everything that everyone does, but I still want to know more

"What's that boy's name?" I ask.

Ino looks at me in confusion, seeming a little surprised to see me showing an interest in something that she and Sakura talked about. "That's Naruto Uzumaki. Don't get involved with him though. He'll only get you into trouble."

"You know why he's so messed up right?" Sakura asks rhetorically. "It's because he doesn't have any parents to tell him right from wrong."

I feel my jaw drop slightly and I'm lost for words. Naruto doesn't have parents either? So then ... all along ... he understands my pain. I stand up and decide to head home. I have a lot that I want to think over.

"Where are you going?" Sakura asks. "Please don't tell me you're planning on visiting Naruto!"

I shake my head. It was sad just how ignorant most of the town could be. "No." I say sincerely. "... But even if I do I don't see why it should matter."

... Naruto Uzumaki ... No matter what I'm never going to forget that name. And if fate exists then there's no question that we'd eventually meet. He and I are so alike yet so different ... Tomorrow I'd like to talk to him, regardless of what Sakura wants. Who knows, he may even be the first good thing to happen in my life since my parents died.

-**phantom130 5 (October 2012)**


	2. Naruto

**Naruto's Point of View**

**Written by: ChibiJinchuuriki**

BLEEP BLEEP. BLEEP BLEEP. BLEEP BLEE-

_Click._

In my half asleep state, my hand automatically presses the button on the alarm clock. Slowly my eyelids open and I find myself staring at the dull beige ceiling, tracing the cracks in the plaster with my eyes.

Today…

Today I have to go to ninja academy.

I yawn and turn over, but soon I realize what a strange position my limbs are twisted in and I sit up, rubbing my eyes. I guess I'll have to get up.

Standing in front of the mirror, I gaze back at my reflection. I look the same as I always do. Crazy, blond, spiky hair, familiar blue eyes… but for some reason the person looking back at me in this mirror doesn't ever seem to smile.

I pick up the green goggles on the table and put them on around my head, and then take another look at myself. That's right, that's better. Now maybe I can smile. Tightening the muscles around my lips, I manage to produce a somewhat half-hearted expression of happiness.

Oh you can't go to school like this Naruto… if you don't smile, you won't make any friends…

The thought makes me widen my smile even more, until the corners of my eyes crinkle and it looks acceptable.

There. Now you've got it.

As soon as I finish brushing my teeth, I get changed into my orange tracksuit and I'm out the door. Before I leave, I take a sip of milk from a carton in the fridge but it tastes funny… as I lock the door behind me, I wonder why the milk I buy keeps doing that.

Walking on the path in the village surrounded by shops, I catch sight of Goujiro, the shop owner who sells fish going about setting up the stands. I freeze in my tracks. Goujiro promptly turns around and heads behind the back of the shop to get more produce. Seizing this opportunity, I look left and right sneakily before dashing over to the shop and leaping over the counter. Taking out a black marker from my pocket, I slide open the counter door and start switching the price markers on various types of seafood.

In the end among other things, mackerel were a ridiculous 7900 ryo per kilo and the sign next to the tuna quoted "Last week's rejected fish".

I grin and jump back over the counter. Old man Goujiro still doesn't get it did he? I've been doing this for the past 3 days already and he still doesn't understand why nobody's been buying his fish.

Putting my arms up behind my head, I continue to walk casually around the village. It was almost 8 o'clock and class was about to start but I didn't really feel like going to school, I have much more fun playing pranks anyway. As long as Iruka sensei doesn't come out to look for me, I'll be fine.

It wasn't long before I found something else to occupy myself with. Someone had left 3 big tins of paint just sitting on a bench. I snicker and hurry over to it. I couldn't believe my luck this morning!

Orange, green and yellow.

I pick up the tins and in my mind I begin planning out my ultimate prank on the academy. The west side of the school building has a huge, white, brick wall… perfect for "decorating". I'm so excited, I've been wanting to paint that wall for a while now. Getting my hands on paint isn't easy now since I defaced the Hokage Mountain monument, paint store owners won't sell me any because they know what I get up to. I've even tried using the transformation jutsu but of course… I'm not very good at it and I always end up being discovered since I can't hold it for long enough.

"Hee hee…" In high spirits, I start jogging to school.

On the way, I muse about what fabulous painting or message I should create on the wall. A comical caricature of Iruka sensei? A dashing image of myself? The possibilities…

I make it to the west side of the academy building in record time. Enthusiastically, I unscrew the lids on the paint tins and using a fallen tree branch nearby, dunk them into the paint and commence "decorating" the wall.

In long fluid movements, I mark huge, colourful words onto the chalky-white brick.

"I WILL BE HOKAGE. BELIEVE IT!"

Lastly, I sign my name in big bold letters.

"NARUTO."

As soon as I am done, the academy bell rings, signalling that class had begun. I barely notice it, too preoccupied in conjuring a new image of Iruka sensei with bulging eyes and buckteeth on the vast canvas before me.

Minutes go by and I'm sure that I've successfully evaded going to class, until…

"Naruto! What in the 5 kage's great names are you DOING?!"

"AHH!"

Shocked out of my wits, I knock over a tin of paint, spilling bright chrome yellow all over the concrete.

Absolutely fuming with anger stands Iruka-sensei, face tomato red and steam coming out of his ears.

"Naruto, what is the meaning of this?!" he bellows.

"I uh… uh…" I laugh nervously, trying to diffuse the situation. "I thought this wall needed a bit of redecorating."

Iruka-sensei didn't take any nonsense. "Right Naruto, you're coming with me… BACK TO CLASS!"

The events that ensued involved myself being dragged into the classroom by the ear. My fellow classmates laugh and point… so I flash a grin and laugh it off.

The morning passes quite uneventfully, nothing much happens and as usual, I am bored out of my mind. Iruka sensei is babbling on about the history of the fire nation again, I don't understand why we need to have so many history lessons. Before I know it, my eyes begin to close… and I start dozing off…

BAM!

I hear something like a textbook slamming on the table in front of me.

"Naruto!"

"Huh…?"

"Were you sleeping?!"

"… Yes?" I reply while yawning. "Ninja history is so boring. Can I go back to sleep?"

A vein visibly bulges on Iruka-sensei's head and his eye starts twitching.

"No, you may not Naruto! You will open your eyes, sit up straight and diligently copy my notes on the board this instant!" he snaps.

"Yeah yeah, okay…" I grumble, too sleepy to argue.

Satisfied, Iruka-sensei returns to the front of the class and continues to point at a map of Konoha.

Two girls sitting in the row in front of me turn around and snicker. Ino and Sakura obviously found this amusing.

On the other hand, I return to my slouched position, eyes about to close again until I meet the gaze of a raven-haired boy. He's looking at me with a blank expression, his chin resting on interwoven fingers that hide his mouth and nose from view.

I stare back.

Seconds turn into minutes. Not once did his expression change. I start to wonder whether he really is looking at me, it seems strange how quiet and still he is… I think that maybe he's bored with history too.

It seems like hours, but the bell for lunch eventually rings. Before we all run outside and escape the classroom, Iruka-sensei makes an announcement. He tells us that he has something special planned for us after we come back from lunch.

The manner in which he tells us makes me curious and tingle with excitement. Are we going to be put into teams? Are we finally becoming genin? My mind buzzes with the thought.

Once I was outside in the academy playground however, I felt the same sense of loneliness that I harboured this morning. In desire, I watch as Shikarmaru and Choji mess around in the sandpit. In longing, I watch as Kiba gives Hinata a piggy back and in envy I watch as the raven haired boy eats his lunch with Sakura and Ino.

All I have is my brown paper bag and incredibly bland sandwich to keep me company.

Filling myself with hope and courage, I walk over to the sandpit.

"Hey Shikamaru, Choji, can I make that sand castle with you?"

The boys look at each other and exchange whispers. I could just faintly make them out.

"… Should we Shikamaru?"

"I don't know Choji, my dad told me not to…"

Having made the decision, they shake their heads.

"Sorry Naruto, we uh… have enough people already."

"Oh okay." I say while faking a smile. "I'm sure Kiba wanted to show me something, I'm going to go find him." I lie.

I walk away again and feel stupid for asking.

After this episode, I never do end up going to find Kiba, instead I sit myself despondently down in the corner of the playground and etch drawings in the dirt with a stick. Kiba and Hinata look like they are having too much fun to let me join in and as for Sakura, Ino and the raven haired boy… they sound too preoccupied in conversation to notice me. Or at least Sakura and Ino do, the raven haired boy looks like he couldn't care less.

I am saved from loneliness by the bell.

Eagerly, I run back into class along with everyone else and begin pestering Iruka-sensei for information.

"Come on Sensei; tell us this big announcement already!" I shout and jump up onto a table, trying to make my voice stand out above the other excited, chattering voices.

Iruka-sensei hushes me and proceeded to take the attendance, yelling out the names at the top of his lungs to make himself heard.

"Okay class! I'd like you all to welcome Mizuki-sensei. He is of chūnin rank just like me and a very good friend of mine." Iruka beams and motions for Mizuki to enter the classroom. "Why don't you introduce yourself to the class?"

A man with long, straight, silver hair promptly walks in, donning a feigned smile and immediately goes about surveying the class before him. His eyes scan the room and the smile remains on his face… until his eyes fall on me. For a split second, the smile falters and curls up into what looks like a snarl, an expression of hatred and disgust. His eyes say it all.

There was something about me that he didn't like. I cringe away from his look and my heart sinks.

As quickly as Mizuki's expression had changed however, his eyes move on and resume sweeping over the students, the fake smile slowly returning to his thin lips.

I decide to think nothing of it. I think that maybe Mizuki-sensei had remembered something that he perhaps thought annoying and that he just happened to be looking at me at that moment.

Intently, I listen as Mizuki-sensei explains to us the reason why he is here. He is going to be another coach for today's gym lesson, which I think isn't going to be _that_ exciting but when Iruka-sensei answers Shikamaru's question and mentions that we are going to be using actual ninja-tools, my interest multiplies itself tenfold.

I often dream about fighting with kunai and throwing shuriken in ninja battles, defeating the bad guys and eventually saving the day… it seems like my dream is about to come true today and so I grin with anticipation.

We are all rushed outside, and in no time I am handed a kunai by Iruka-sensei. While sensei explains that we are going to be doing target practice, I hold up the kunai to examine it closely. The shiny metal glistens in the sun.

"Alright everyone, the way to hold a kunai is to grip it strongly at the hilt and position it horizontally to your body. When you're throwing the kunai, put forward the leg opposite to your throwing hand and bend your knees." Iruka-sensei assumes the position himself to demonstrate to the class.

"The secret is to extend your index and middle finger along the top of the blade, which will help with direction and accuracy when you throw it."

With that, he throws his kunai and it hits the center of the target with a satisfying _thwack_.

"With enough practice you'll find it easy."

The class erupts in claps and cheers. Iruka-sensei smiles and does a brisk bow before waving at Mizuki-sensei, who gets up from leaning against a nearby tree, making his way towards the group.

"Now who wants to go first?"

There was no way that I could miss this dazzling opportunity so I shot up my hand without a second thought. To increase the chances of being picked, I then jump up and down and wave my hand to and fro frantically.

"Oh, oh, pick me!"

But I was not the only one to volunteer. Looking to my left, I see the raven haired boy raise his hand at the same time. Iruka-sensei seems amused and tells the both of us that we can start the class off together.

As we step out from the crowd of students, I shoot a glance at the boy next to me, who smirks. A thought then occurs to me and I can't contain my excitement.

"Wait, does that mean me and him are competing?!"

"Yeah I suppose you can say something like that. Is that fine by you Sasuke?" Iruka asks.

Sasuke. So that's his name. I'll make sure to remember it.

The boy named Sasuke does a nod and then looks at me.

Together, the both of us walk up to the white line a few meters in front of the target boards.

I turn my head to look at him again, sizing him up and noticing that he's very calm and collected, not at all nervous or unsure. He looks like he knows what he's doing… like he's done target practice a thousand times before.

The raven haired boy immediately takes the ready position to throw his kunai, which is so perfect that it earns words of praise from Iruka-sensei. The boy shakes his head and states that he used to go to target practice every weekend when he was little.

For a second I feel way out of my league. I had _never_ in my life done target practice before and now I'm up against possibly the most skilled boy in my class! I had wanted to look cool, stepping up to throw the kunai first, not make myself a laughing stock in front of everyone.

But wait, nobody knows that. For all they know, I could have gone for target practice _everyday _in my life. So then I resort to lying to cover my obvious unconfident self.

"I used to go out for target practice every day too! Believe it!" I beam.

I turn to face the target board but I could sense nothing but eyes boring into my back. So many people were watching me, analyzing me… including the raven haired boy next to me.

Panic starts to well up in my throat and in desperation I fumble with the kunai in my hand, almost dropping it in the process.

"Uh… uh…" A bead of sweat rolls down my forehead.

I regret not listening to Iruka-sensei when he explained the steps to throwing kunai a short while earlier. I'm positively sure that I'm holding the kunai incorrectly; it feels like my hand is in a strange twisted position, which feels unnatural… not to mention my stance.

Iruka-sensei seems to see right through me in an instant and picks up on my horrible acting skills, informing me in front of the class that my form is completely wrong.

Laughter rings out all around me and my head shoots up in surprise, wide-eyed. I brush off sensei's words nervously and try to deny my inexperience.

Sasuke has a look of cruel enjoyment on his face… like he wants to continue watching me squirm in this difficult predicament. I look away quickly.

I resume fiddling with the kunai until Iruka-sensei sighs and comes over to instruct me personally. It takes a total of 5 minutes but now I'm finally ready.

Sensei steps back. "Okay Naruto and Sasuke, throw when you're ready."

I'm still determined to throw mine first but as soon as the kunai leaves my hands, so does Sasuke's. We end up throwing the kunai at the same time.

_Clang!_

Neither kunai hit the target. I cringe.

"What was that for?!"

The boy yells at me but I pretend not to notice.

Iruka shakes his head. "Who wants to go up next?"

I try to beg sensei for another chance but he waves me away. As I sulk to the back of the crowd, Sasuke shoves his hands in his pockets and strolls casually away into a corner, with the blank look on his face once again.

The rest of the day is hardly even worth being present in class. While I stare out the window, Iruka's words just go in through one ear and out the other.

"Okay class, I hope you've all paid attention to what I've taught you today. The locations of all the different nations are very important if you're all going to become shinobi one day. Also, if you all ask your _parents_… I'm sure they'd gladly help you with target practice whenever they can." I feel Iruka-sensei's eyes on me for a brief second as he pauses.

"… And don't forget, there will be a test on the 5 great nations tomorrow so go home and look through all of your notes from today. Class dismissed." The bell rings shortly after, exactly on time.

My classmates pour out of the school talking, running and skipping. I didn't really have any plans afterschool and so I decide to go to the park, a place I've always loved.

I walk through the gates and head towards my favourite spot.

_Today was embarrassing…_ I think to myself. It turns out I'm not at all fantastic at throwing kunai, or any kind of target practice for that matter. That boy Sasuke must be really good… I clench my fists.

Which is why I've got to start practicing.

I look around for small rocks of suitable size and make a small pile of them before singling out a tree as a target. I try as much as possible to throw them just like real kunai, paying particular attention to my form and stance, making sure that I follow through with my movements as Iruka-sensei had taught me. I continue to throw rocks at the tree until well into the afternoon. Most of them didn't end up hitting the target at all.

It's hard to describe what I feel.

For years… ever since I could remember, I've been looked down upon. The villagers, the people, my classmates… they all look at me as if I'm a walking plague, except for Iruka-sensei and a handful of others that is. I just don't understand why everyone hates me so much. I feel so weak and useless not being able to do anything. I can tell that I'm not like the other children, I have no friends, no parents… I think that in order to get stronger, I must find a way to be powerful, to become the most skilled shinobi, to become Hokage.

After about an hour, I get tired of doing makeshift target practice so I wander over to the swings and sit down. My mind is filled with sad and dismaying thoughts. I swing myself back and forth gently for a few minutes until I hear the sound of people talking nearby.

Looking up, I'm surprised to see the raven haired boy with Ino and Sakura sitting on a park bench a little distance across from me. I quickly look down, keep swinging and pretend that I didn't notice them, but no matter how much I try, I can't help overhearing what they are saying.

I manage to catch a few words that hit me like daggers. I know that they are talking about me.

"Look at him… alone… pathetic… sorry for him." Says one girl.

"Serves him right… trouble… won't make any friends…" Replies the other.

Then all of a sudden, after a long pause from the boy Sasuke, I hear him ask one of the girls for my name. I can't take it anymore, curiosity is killing me so I look up once again.

Sasuke looks as if he is taken by surprise, I can see that from far away, his mouth has formed an 'o' and that he is utterly speechless.

I crane my neck to get a better view but after a brief exchange of words, the raven haired boy just gets up and leaves abruptly, leaving the two girls staring after him in confusion.

I am just as equally puzzled. Why did he react that way when he heard my name? What did he think of me?

I did some thinking of my own and arrive at the conclusion that Sasuke is not all that he seems. From the events that happened today, I can see that underneath that cool and calm persona is a boy who burns with fierce competition. His eyes however, tell of a different story. It seems to me that he has the same kind of isolated loneliness as I do. In other words, we share the same desire for strength and power, though possibly for different reasons…

The light is beginning to fade as the deep orange glow of the afternoon turns into the sleepy blue hues of the evening. The crickets hidden in the grass begin to chirp. I raise my head to look up and watch the stars winking as they slowly become visible in the cloudy sky.

It was then I knew that deep, deep down… Sasuke and I would partake in a similar destiny, that we were tied together somehow in some twisted fate, as if it were etched in the stars themselves.


End file.
